Bathinda: Punjab’s stubble-burning crisis intensified further on Wednesday, with the state reporting 515 farm fire incidents in a single day and surpassing last year’s total count. The cumulative number of farm fires this season has risen to 5,517, exceeding the 5,114 cases recorded during the corresponding period in 2025.Punjab continues to far outpace other states in crop residue burning. Madhya Pradesh, which ranks second, reported 179 fresh incidents on Wednesday, taking its cumulative tally to 2,324. Rajasthan recorded 40 cases (1,375 cumulative), Uttar Pradesh 129 (818), Uttarakhand three (216), Haryana eight (214) and Delhi continued to remain at two cases. Across the seven states, the cumulative farm fire count has reached 10,466, with 874 incidents reported on Wednesday alone.With 5,517 of the 10,466 cases, Punjab accounted for 52.71% of all farm fire incidents reported across the seven states this season.Punjab also dominates the list of the worst-affected districts. Six of the 10 districts with the highest number of stubble-burning incidents are from the state. Ferozepur has overtaken Tarn Taran to become the most affected district among 174 districts spread across seven states, recording 728 cases. Tarn Taran follows with 687 cases, while Sangrur has reported 628. Bathinda ranks fifth with 499 cases, Patiala sixth with 374, and Barnala tenth with 320 cases. Ferozepur, Sangrur, Bathinda and Barnala have witnessed a sharp rise in incidents over the past six days.As farm fire incidents continue to mount, enforcement measures have also been intensified. A total of 1,155 FIRs have been registered under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for disobedience to orders promulgated by a public servant. Tarn Taran alone accounts for 308 FIRs, followed by Ferozepur (178), Malerkotla (129), Patiala (123) and Sangrur (99).Authorities have also made 1,342 red entries in land records linked to stubble-burning violations. In addition, environmental compensation of Rs 79.75 lakh has been imposed in 1,574 cases, of which Rs 36.40 lakh has been recovered.The crackdown has extended to officials as well. Warning and show-cause notices have been issued to 1,247 nodal and supervisory officers, while prosecution proceedings have been initiated against 18 supervisory officers under Section 14 of the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) Act. The provision allows for imprisonment of up to five years, a fine of up to Rs 1 crore, or both, for non-compliance with CAQM directions.According to the Consortium for Research on Agroecosystem Monitoring and Modeling from Space (CREAMS), stubble-burning incidents have so far been reported from 174 districts across the seven states, including all 23 districts of Punjab.Crop residue burning cases on Nov 11Punjab: 515MP: 179UP: 129Rajasthan: 40Haryana: 8Uttarakhand: 3Total: 874Crop residue burning cases till Nov 11Punjab: 5,517MP: 2,324Rajasthan: 1,375UP: 818Uttarakhand: 216Haryana: 214Delhi: 2Total: 10,466
